Range chassis



1964 E. s. POLLOCK ETAL 3,156,232

RANGE CHASSIS Filed Sept. 19, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 EARL S. POLLOCK 8 By DALTON L.DIVELBISS ATTORNEYS 1964 E. s. POLLOCK ETAL 3,156,232

RANGE CHASSIS Filed Sept. 19, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 34 INVENTORS 1/ EARL s. POLLOCK a DALTON L. DIVELBISS Ti. BY

3 ATTORNEYS United States Patent "cc 3,156,232 RANGE CHASSIS Earl S. Pollock and Daiton L. Divelbiss, Lexington, Ohio, assignors to The Tappan Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Sept. 19, 1961, Ser. No. 139,204 1 Claim. (Cl. 126-39) This invention relates to an improved chassis for a cooking range.

It is a primary object to provide a range chassis of extremely rigid and strong construction, with only a relatively small number of separate pieces used in the fabrication of this chassis and the assembly thereof being readily accomplished in permanent manner.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a chassis which is substantially fully formed from a single piece of stock and thereby basically unitary in an integral sense, as distinguished from the result of an assembly of multiple components.

It is another object to provide such a unitary chassis having a one piece oven liner combined therewith in such manner as to further enhance the stability and strength of the range.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claim, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a range in which a chassis in accordance with the present invention is utilized;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the range;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the chassis on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 4 is a front elevation of the chassis, with the scale somewhat further enlarged;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the chassis; and

FIG. 6 shows the chassis in side elevation.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the complete range illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is generally conventional in exterior appearance and design, with its major sections being a body or cabinet portion 10 and a cooking top 11. The cooking top rests on the top of the base or cabinet portion and contains a plurality of suitable surface cooking units, not visible in the drawings, with controls 12 therefor on an inclined front panel and an upstanding backguard 13 at the rear.

The invention concerns the main base portion 10 of the range, and particularly the chassis of the same as indicated earlier. While the chassis is normally obscured in looking at the range, the exterior does show that it will define a vertically elongated and relatively narrow storage compartment 14 at the left having a front door 15, which is hinged along the vertical front corner of the range at such side. The remaining portion of the base provides an oven compartment 16, having a bottom hinged door 17, and a lower broiler compartment 18 in which there is a drawer 19. As will be appreciated, the illustrated range is of gas type and the general organization is known and noted here only to assist understanding of the reasons why the illustrated chassis has the particular configuration shown.

For example, the chassis 20 is of the illustrated relative width to provide a front 21 having an opening 22 for 3,156,232 Patented Nov. 10, 1964 noted storage compartment space and an opening 23 for the oven, including the lower broiler compartment. The top 24 of the chassis is depressed to support the cooking top, with the latter separately fabricated in the usual manner and then assembled with the chassis. The back 25 of the chassis is inset over its major area to accommodate gas line and other connections with the range installed flush against the wall.

The significant feature of this chassis 20 is that the front'Zl, top 24 and back 25 are integral by virtue of being formed from a single piece of stock, which is preferably heavy duty steel. The blanking of the front openings 22 and 23, the major depression of the top 24, and the main oifset of the back 25, as well as any other desired additional formations of metal, such as slots 26, channels 27, oven opening flanges 28, lightening holds 29, and the like, can all be provided in the flat stock, and the latter is then bent or wrapped to the inverted U-shape section and final relation of these distinct areas of the chassis.

The front 21 has rearwardly directed flanges 34) along its vertical edges, the top 24 has downturned flanges 31 at its sides, and the back 25 is formed with both forward vertical edge flanges 32 and intermediate angular wall portions 33 between the edges and the in-set main portion. The latter portion terminates in a forward horizontal flange 34 spaced above the bottom of the chassis, while edge continuations 35 below this elevation carry the back edges down to such bottom.

There are several, relatively much smaller, structural elements which serve the purpose of joining the three major areas of the chassis together in a rigid assembly, including gusset plates 36 at the top corners at each side. Such plates are welded between the top and front flanges 31 and 3t), and between the top and back flanges, 31 and 32, respectively at the front and the rear corners as shown. A base channel skirt 37 extends between the front 21 and back 25, with its ends welded thereto, at the bottom of each side of the chassis, and an intermediate angle stiffener 38 similarly extends between the back and the front and is welded in place at the bottom approximately in the plane of the left or inner side of the front oven opening 23. The latter is bridged, somewhat below center, by a horizontal plate 39 marking the division be tween the oven and broiler compartments, and it will be understood that the usual broiler burner would be located behind such plate with the floor of the oven approximately in register with the plate top in accordance with conventional practice.

The chassis 20 is thus substantially completely formed from a single piece of stock and the spaced portions thereof permanently interconnected by a relatively small number of added structural components. The chassis is preferably completely submerged in all-porcelain bath for rust protection.

The stability and strength of the chassis is further enhanced by employing therein a one-piece oven liner 4%) which is wrapped oppositely to the base chassis. That is, the liner 40 extends continuously from a lower outer edge 42 upwardly to define the right side 43 of the oven compartment, then horizontally inwardly to form the compartment top 44-, and finally downwardly to form the corresponding left side 45. A back 46 is applied to the liner, and the latter is spaced inwardly from the back 25 of the chassis. However, the bottom edges of the oven liner 49 are secured to the lower inturned flange 34 of the chassis back and to the right base skirt 37 and transverse angle stiffener 38. The oven back 46 has its edges wrapped about the liner 40, as shown at 47, and such oven construction and assembly of course additionally precludes the escape of heat through cracks at joints and the like.

Thespace between the oven back 46 and the chassis back 25 is provided for thermal insulation, not shown, and such insulation will also be applied exteriorly about the sides and top of the liner 40. The burners, doors, broiler drawer and other such features are all conventional and accordingly need not be illustrated or described in detail herein. As far as the body of the range is concerned, all that is needed for completion is to apply finish panels to the open sides of the range and an appropriate finish strip across the bottom front.

, It will be appreciated that a chassis for a smaller range, for example, slightly greater than oven compartment width, can be made in the same manner, since this would involve basically only a difference in size and not the disclosed wrapping and stabilizing of the basic chassis or the combination of the one-piece oven liner with the same.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

We, therefore, particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

A range chassis comprising a front Wall having an opening. for an oven therein, a substantially imperforate top integrally formed with said front wall, the main area of said top being depressed relative to the sides of the top, a substantially imperforate back wall integrally formed with said top, rigidifying means extending between and secured to said front and back Walls adjacent the bottom portions thereof to rigidity said chassis, and

oven liner means disposed within said opening in said front wall of said chassis, said oven liner means comprising a one-piece unit forming the side and top walls thereof and a back wall secured thereto, said oven liner means also spanning a substantial portion of the height of said front and back walls of said chassis, with the side walls of said oven liner means being rigidly mounted adjacent the bottom of said chassis to said rigidifying means extending between and secured -to said front and back walls of said chassis, the thus mounted liner means forming a rigid unitary assembly with said chassis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,560,561 Moecker Aug. 18, 1925 2,291,737 Lockwood Aug. 4, 1942 2,375,242 Lockwood May 8, 1945 2,393,879 Barnsteiner Jan. 29, 1946 2,418,152 Avery Apr. 1, 1947 2,485,359 Cook Oct. 18, 1949 2,512,118 Snow 2 June 20, 1950 2,622,584 Reeves Dec. 23, 1952 2,693,792 Chadwick Nov. 9, 1954 2,705,947 Pearce Apr. 12, 1955 2,797,298 Fujitani June 25, 19:57 3,007,465 Kamin Nov. 7, 1961 3,033,188 Cline May 8, 1962 OTHER REFERENCES Economics of Cabinet Design, Product Engineering,

November 1948, pages 139-142. 

